Boulder received 14.5 inches of snow and reached record low of 2 degrees

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What a storm!

Wait, what storm?

The spring storm that swept through the Front Range this week set records. But because of its uneven treatment of neighboring areas, it also triggered debate over what was reality and what was forecasters' fevered hype.

The system dumped a record 14.5 inches of snow in Boulder and also broke a record low temperature early Wednesday morning.

The previous record for an April 9 snowfall was 11.8 inches, set in 1989. By 6 p.m. Tuesday, Boulder saw 13.1 inches of snow, and the city recorded 14.5 over the entire course of the storm, according to local meteorologist Matt Kelsch.

But the heavy snowfall wasn't countywide, with parts of northeastern Boulder County getting less than 4 inches of snow. Even Nederland received far less snow than Boulder, which Kelsch said is unusual for this time of year.

"A gradient that sharp is pretty unusual," Kelsch said of the disparity in snowfall.

The storm also brought a large swing in temperatures.

After a high of 62 on Monday, temperatures in Boulder skidded all the way down to 2 degrees just after 6 a.m. Wednesday, breaking the record low for the day of 5, set April 10, 1959.

It was also Boulder's second lowest temperature ever in the month of April behind a minus-3 degree day on April 2, 1975.

"This was very complex storm," said Bob Henson, a meteorologist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research.

"The upper-level low broke into several pieces. When it's a consolidated single upper low in the right place, that's when we get our biggest storms. In this case, a piece of the low broke early and quickly toward Nebraska. We weren't in upslope after that."

Weather extremes were not registered only locally. Henson said Boulder County experienced a microcosm of a larger weather picture that saw a 4 p.m. Tuesday temperature in Cheyenne, Wyo., of 8, while at the same time, Laredo, Texas wilted at 108.

"A 100-degree temperature contrast at the same moment -- clearly there was a lot of energy and contrast to the system, and it played out in a way that was very complicated," Henson said.

As for the disparities in snow totals between eastern sections of the county and downtown Boulder and the lower foothills, Henson said that can be attributed to a variety of factors.

"The snow started earlier in Boulder and it probably kept going a little bit later," he said. "Part of it is duration, part is density -- how much snow per drop of water -- and part of it is simply that you tend to get more snow in west Boulder than toward the east. That is common."

The snow-to-liquid ratios in this week's storm were generally higher in the center of the county.

Typically, an inch of moisture can translate to about 10 to 20 inches of snow. But for central Boulder in this storm, the relatively dry, fluffy snow resulted in snow-to-moisture ratios as high as 26.3 to 1.

"When it is this cold, it's just that the snowmaking in the clouds becomes very efficient," Henson said.

Despite the snow and the low temperatures, many of the roads in Boulder by midday Wednesday were relatively dry, which Kelsch said is not unusual in spring snowstorms.

"It was warm going into it. So the pavement was warm, and in spring, snow during the day doesn't accumulate on the roads because the sun is still getting through the clouds and warming up the pavement," Kelsch said. "The sun is pretty strong this time of year."

The Boulder area should see more seasonal conditions in the days ahead.

After a forecast Wednesday night low of 19, Thursday's forecast called for partly sunny skies with a high near 48 and winds 6 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 16 mph.

There is a 20 percent chance of rain after noon. Thursday night's overnight low is expected to be near 28, with a 20 percent chance of rain or snow before midnight.

Friday's forecast calls for partly sunny skies with a high near 52.

The big picture remains gloomy looking forward, with this week's storm system still leaving the South Platte River basin's snowpack at 70 percent of average.

Given that some of that moisture will evaporate before it ever has a chance to melt and help water the lowlands, Henson labeled conditions "worrisome" as the Front Range faces the hotter, drier months ahead.

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